


An Unexpected Visit

by Jkjones21



Category: X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Compliant, First Meetings, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 22:23:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17272259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jkjones21/pseuds/Jkjones21
Summary: Ava'Dara needs to get Prince Kubark's going out sneakers, but she's interrupted by someone from the West Coast dropping in to the Jean Grey School unexpectedly.





	An Unexpected Visit

**Author's Note:**

  * For [karencharm](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=karencharm).



> For karencharm.  
> Set post-Schism, pre-AvX.

“Warbird! Fetch me my spare sneakers!”  


Barely a month had passed since Prince Kubark had enrolled at the Jean Grey School, and while he still retained all of his worst impulses as the son of the Imperial Majestor Kallark, he had managed to pick up even more in the presence of other young people. Ava’Dara Naganandini, Warbird of the Shi’ar, had been assigned to protect the prince while he studied on this small backwater planet with one of the few groups of non-Shi’ar that Majestor Kallark respected: the X-Men. Ostensibly some time spent in a place where Kubark’s status as a Shi’ar prince was irrelevant would help him mature into a capable leader ready to assume the throne from his father if yet another crisis were to rock the empire. In reality, Kubark was acting just as much the headstrong child he had always been, but now with the extra incentive of having peers to impress. Ava’Dara took these developments in stride most of the time, but at moments like these, when her role as protector was reduced to that of glorified gofer, she privately wished that the Shi’ar hadn’t turned their throne over to the Strontian. Deriving literal strength from self confidence was a useful quality in a temperate leader, but in his brash son, who clearly enjoyed his newfound status, it was a constant headache.  


“Why do you need your spare sneakers, Prince?” Ava’Dara asked.  


Kubark, who was pristinely dressed in his battle regalia, scoffed at the question. “I’m off to spar with Krakoa, and I intend to go into town to get milkshakes after my inevitable victory. I can’t be seen in dirty shoes on a social outing!” Without waiting for a response, Kubark turned and leapt out the common room window, his cape billowing behind him.  


Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, Ava’Dara replied, “Very well, Prince Kubark,” and stood from her seat on the couch. She would have to watch this Earth wrestling some other time. It was obviously fake combat, but she admired the athleticism of the competitors and, though she didn’t care to admit it, the stylistic flair they brought to their work. There was an exuberant extravagance to the whole spectacle that made no sense from a pragmatic standpoint, but which she felt was deeply satisfying nonetheless. As she turned to go to Kubark’s room, she passed Husk, the young teacher whose class alternated between frustratingly chaotic and dreadfully silent depending on her demeanor that day, reading a book in an overstuffed armchair. She glanced up and gave a sympathetic smile to Ava’Dara, a large patch of skin flaking off her cheek to reveal scales underneath.  


“It must be tough being responsible for someone so impulsive,” Husk offered.  


“Serving as the prince’s guardian is an honor,” Ava’Dara said. She left off the unspoken understanding among her peers that it was also perhaps one of the worst assignments a Warbird could receive.  


“I’m just saying that I had to help my momma take care of all my younger siblings when my big brother left to go to school here--well, not _here_ here. You know, at the old school.” Husk tried to laugh, a tiny squeak escaping her mouth as more bits of skin crumbled from around her eyes. “I mean, it’s a lot of work is all, and none of my brothers and sisters had powers. Well, Josh had powers, but that was later, and…” She trailed off, caught up in a thought that Ava’Dara didn’t really have the time or inclination to unravel. A low boom emanated from outside. Kubark was likely reaching the end of his session with Krakoa.  


“I need to see to the prince’s footwear.”  


Ava’Dara turned to leave Husk with her obviously addled thoughts, but before she could get two steps from the junior teacher, a flash of light burst from the center of the room where a blonde woman maybe only a year or two older than Husk appeared. In her left hand she clutched a sword, her arm sheathed in silvery armor. An impassive, almost bored expression covered her face as she scanned the room before settling her gaze on the two of them. Ava’Dara didn’t know who this woman was, but she was clearly a warrior.  


“Illyana?” asked Husk.  


“No time to explain,” the woman said as a disc of light formed beneath the three of them.  


Ava’Dara instinctively tried to leap out of the way, but she found the ground underneath her feet was no longer solid. As she sank into the apparent portal, Ava’Dara scanned Husk’s face for any clues to what was going on. She at least seemed to know who this Illyana was, but her expression indicated only surprise and dismay, which weren’t that far off from how she usually looked at any given moment on a typical day in class. Best to be prepared for the worst.  


The first thing Ava’Dara noticed upon passing through the portal was the oppressive heat pushing in all around her. Expansive planes of crimson rock extended all around her, illuminated only by scattered pools of light similar to the one that she had just been pulled through. To her right, Husk was ripping at her skin to reveal a smooth chrome layer underneath. The blonde woman, Illyana, stood a few meters away, pinching the ridge of her nose, a look of exasperation apparent on her face.  


“This could be worse,” she muttered to herself repeatedly while pacing around the pool where they’d emerged.  
Not caring for being yanked around by someone who didn’t have a royal right to give her orders, Ava’Dara drew one of her swords and pointed it at the woman. “Who are you, and what do you want with us?”  


The blonde woman glanced at Ava’Dara and flicked her wrist dismissively. A column of rock jutted up from the ground and smoothly enveloped Ava’Dara’s arm before hardening back into its default state, leaving the soldier trapped.  


“I don’t have time to go over the niceties. I’m one of the X-Men; I teleport through this dimension, of which I am also, usually, the ruler; and I need help dealing with a minor problem. I was hoping to locate Wolverine or Kitty or,” here she paused and rolled her eyes, “Phoenix, but instead I ended up with you two. Who are you?” This last statement was directed towards Ava’Dara.  


She tensed her arm, testing the strength of the stone wrapped around it, and after realizing she had no leverage to break free, she relaxed, although she rested her other hand on the remaining sword at her hip. “I am a Warbird of the Shi’ar Empire. I’d like to be released now.” If this woman proved untrustworthy, Ava’Dara was prepared to cut off her own arm so that she could go on the offensive, although she strongly preferred not to have to go to extreme measures.  


“Um, Illyana?” Husk stepped gingerly between the two of them. “Warbird’s a friend. She’s been at the school taking care of this prince--”  


“Doesn’t matter. We’re here now, and I need your help.” Illyana glanced down at Ava’Dara’s still sheathed sword. “It looks like you can fight, so at least there’s that.” Without another word, the stone receded from around Ava’Dara’s arm and melted back into the ground.  


Her warrior’s pride refused to let Ava’Dara rub at the slightly sore arm as she sheathed her sword. There were still a lot of unanswered questions about this Illyana, and the tentative trust that Husk showed her was only mildly mitigating. “Of course I can fight. I’m Shi’ar. Why have you brought us here? You’re not from the school.”  


The briefest arching of an eyebrow beneath the woman’s bangs was all the indication Ava’Dara could see of the exasperation she must have felt. Even so, if she didn’t want to be questioned about everything, she should have explained herself better before dragging them to wherever this was. “Fine. We’re in Limbo now, so there’s at least enough time to explain the basics. When I’m not sitting in a prison cell on Utopia, I work with Magneto and Storm and the other heavy hitters. Right now, my brother is rampaging through my demon fields, and I need to get him under control before I transport him back to San Francisco to help manage the Sinister problem.”  


At the mention of whatever this Sinister was, Husk’s face lit up. “Oh, is he attacking again? I saw on the internet that you stopped him from taking over the world a couple weeks ago.”  


“No, this is the first time he’s attacked--you know what? Never mind. It’s a Limbo thing, and we really need to deal with Piotr.”  
Husk, apparently intrigued by everything Illyana was explaining, kept asking more and more questions that made no sense to Ava’Dara absent some larger context that she lacked. This woman, despite abducting the two of them, hadn’t actually tried to do any harm yet, which would suffice for trust at the moment. She didn’t need to hear her whole life story.  


A flicker out of the corner of Ava’Dara’s eye caught her attention, and she turned to look into a nearby light pool. It was almost painfully bright in the pervasive darkness, but if she squinted, Ava’Dara thought she could make out figures through the portal. They appeared to be two women, heads held close together as though they shared a secret between them. Ava’Dara felt like if she gazed just a little longer, they would come into focus. One bore a hairstyle similar to Illyana’s, all straight lines and severe edges, and the other had a bushy tangle of hair spilling down on her shoulders. As Ava’Dara looked closer, the curly hair woman’s features began to clear. She looked like Headmistress Pryde, but older.  


A hand caught Ava’Dara on the shoulder and yanked her away from where she’d been kneeling by the pool. She hadn’t even realized how close she’d gotten. She turned to see Illyana glaring at her.  


“Don’t get too close to the stepping discs. My control isn’t always so precise when I’m concentrating, and the wild ones are totally unpredictable. You might end up in my past and muck something up even more.” The glare turned into a sneer. “Or you’d just die.”  


“That portal showed the Headmistress of the school, but she was older.”  


Illyana rolled her eyes. “Time works differently in Limbo. As long as we stay here I can take us to pretty much anywhen I want, but leaving is always trickier. You probably got a glimpse of one of my futures.”  


“What does--?” Ava’Dara began to ask.  


Illyana held up a finger in a gesture of silence. “I’m done explaining all this for a one time teamup. We’re going to save my brother from himself now.” Without warning, the ground gave way beneath the three of them as another portal opened to swallow them up.  


The heat was still the same, ubiquitous and oppressive, but at least things were lighter in this new locale. While the crimson rock was still the primary material of the landscape, it was no longer the grimly silent, featureless plane of endless light pools. Ava’Dara and her companions stood atop an outcropping of rock overlooking a field where a metal giant in armor almost as red as the ground surged through what looked like a seething horde of demons. Great jagged spikes protruded from the giant’s back and shoulders, many of them slicked with the entrails of demons that had been caught on them as they tried to pile atop their adversary.  


“Oh no,” said Husk. “Is that Colossus?”  


“Do all Guthries like to play Captain Obvious?” Illyana drew her sword and pointed at the monster that was apparently her brother. “I can deal with him, but I need you two to distract the demons while I do my work. Feel free to work out some issues on them. They always come back anyway.”  


Ava’Dara scanned the scene below her. Like all Warbirds she was well versed in combat against multiple opponents, but even this seemed a little excessive. She recalled how Illyana had manipulated the very ground to keep her at bay. “Can’t you just separate them or wrap him up in stone like you did me earlier?”  


“Um,” said Husk, “You probably don’t know how the Juggernaut’s powers work, but he can’t really be stopped once he’s in motion.” She looked down at the demons and sighed. “Let’s get to it,” she said, and leapt off the cliff into the fray. For someone who was so timid with the students, she seemed relatively at peace with rushing into a fight with demons. Perhaps there was more to Husk than Ava’Dara had originally thought.  


“Well,” said Illyana, “Are you going to make Paige do all the work? I have a brother to pacify.” Without another word she slipped through a portal and reappeared across the field, falling directly on the back of the red giant.  


“It’s better than fetching sneakers,” Ava’Dara sighed. Drawing both of her swords, she leapt off the cliff and into the teeming masses of demons, slicing her way towards Husk, who had shed her chrome skin in favor of an icy exterior that was freezing and shattering her foes on contact. She never seemed to do things by half measures; maybe that was why the young teacher was so timid with her classes.  


For her own part, Ava’Dara lacked any of the spectacular offensive abilities that her companions brought to the fight. Winning was just a matter of making her body and her weapons do what they had been trained to do her entire life. Cutting down these demons amidst all the chaos roiling around her was almost a meditative activity. The only threat these creatures posed to her were by virtue of their numbers. If Illyana didn’t do whatever she was trying to do within the next few hours, then the horde might wear Ava’Dara down enough for her to falter.  


Across the field, Illyana had jammed her sword deep between the giant’s shoulder blades, and she was using it to steady herself as the giant flailed around trying to knock her loose. Ava’Dara was mildly impressed that the woman had enough strength to lodge her weapon so deep through all that armor. Blue lightning crackled from the wound, and while it was clear the giant was in pain, it didn’t seem to be slowing its rampage at all. Then, as Ava’Dara scissored the head off of an imp, she saw the giant come to a halt. The great spikes shriveled into its back as the whole thing shrank down to the size of only a very large man. The red armor receded, and where a crimson dome had sat squatly atop the things shoulders, there was now the glint of a smooth silvery head. Illyana continued to hang from her sword throughout the transformation, still dangling when the giant had fully reverted to what Ava’Dara supposed was her brother.  


With no apparent effort, Illyana slid her sword from its spot in her brother, and the great metal man turned to her. Ava’Dara couldn’t hear what they were saying from this distance, but the set of each sibling’s shoulders suggested that things were tense.  


“Well, that’s that,” said Husk, who had shed her icy skin and wandered over to Ava’Dara’s position. She had barely noticed the demons all retreating now that Illyana’s brother was done raging.  


“This makes no sense. Why have the demons fled?” Ava’Dara asked.  


A slightly pleased look passed over Husk’s face. “Illyana rules in Limbo, and the demons have to do what she wants. I think they’re scared of her, so they didn’t want to stick around now that she’s not distracted by Colossus.”  


The specter of the red giant towering over the relatively diminutive blonde woman who had brought them here flashed in Ava’Dara’s mind. If the demons were more afraid of her than of that, then she must be extremely powerful indeed.  


The siblings had apparently finished their conversation, as a portal opened beneath them. They disappeared through it as another portal opened next to Ava’Dara and Husk. Illyana emerged, looking unruffled by the entire affair.  


“Piotr’s on his way to break some things in San Francisco now. I’ll take you two back to the school, then I’m going to join him and we can put this whole business behind us. It’s probably best if you don’t tell anyone about our little adventure.” There was a slightly weary edge to Illyana’s words.  


Ava’Dara decided against pressing for more information. “Fine. Let’s go,” she said.  


A flash of light and they were back in the Jean Grey School’s common room. The sun shone through the window, and the rumblings of Kubark and Krakoa’s fight resonated through the walls. Without another word Illyana disappeared through another portal, leaving Ava’Dara and Husk to return to their day as though nothing had happened.  


“I guess I should get those shoes.” Ava’Dara turned to leave, then paused. “You were very impressive on the battlefield, Husk.”  


The teacher blushed as much as her cracked skin would allow. “It’s just lots of studying, you know? I was a really dedicated student. And you don’t have to call me by my codename. Paige is fine.”  


“Very well then. We’re now comrades in arms. You can call me--”  


“Warbird! Shoes! Now!” cried Prince Kubark.

**Author's Note:**

> Canon compliant as far as I can tell. Technically Piotr has the Juggernaut rage under control before Illyana sends him to Sinister's location, but I figured it wouldn't be that much of a stretch if the demonic energies in Limbo exacerbated the problem en route.


End file.
